This invention relates to a refractory brick assembly for a heat regenerator adapted to be used in a glass fusion furnace.
FIG. 16 shows a conventional refractory brick assembly comprising a plurality of refractory brick units 1 made of an electro-cast refractory material. Each refractory unit 1 has the uniform thickness over a full length thereof. The refractory units are vertically piled in such a manner that a plurality of flow passages 2 are formed as to extend in a vertical direction. Four corners 1a of each refractory unit 1 are so cut that a cross section thereof is octagonal. The corners 1a of horizontally adjacent refractory units 1 contact each other while the upper ends 1b contact the corresponding lower ends 1c.
In such a conventional brick assembly, the flow passages 2 are separate from each other so that the gas flows independently through each flow passage 2. For example, once gas enters the lower open end of a specific lowermost refractory unit, the gas flows through only one flow passage defined by a series of refractories vertically joined to each other and then flows out of the upper open end of the uppermost refractory unit. The gas never flows into any adjacent flow passage. Therefore, if the gas temperature at a starting level is not uniform, some low-temperature gas portion flows through a specific flow passage while some high-temperature gas portion flows through another specific flow passage. Those gases are not mixed. In addition, separate gases may flow at different flow rates through the separate flow passages. As a result, the heat exchange rate is variable and not uniform at a certain horizontal level. The gas also may flow through the flow passages 2 as a laminar air flow and not a turbulent air flow. Thus, a convection-type heat exchange cannot be easily carried out at a high efficiency.